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Return of £5m investment offer to support local climate action

4th March 2025
Residents and businesses can again invest in local sustainability projects while earning a fixed annual interest rate of 4.2%. Hackney’s Green Investment programme is looking to raise £5m to fund a range of local climate projects, such as solar panels on schools and council homes, and the rollout of Hackney’s sector-leading EV charging network. This week, the second phase of the investment launched, which is helping fund energy-saving windows at a local school and other green projects in Hackney. Building on the success of last year's £600,000 fundraising round, this phase aims to raise an additional £500,000 towards the target of £5 million by 2030. People can invest from £5, with the investment offering a fixed rate of return of 4.2% interest a year over a five-year term. Investments support local climate action as part of Hackney’s mission to create a cleaner, greener borough. This includes: Solar panels and energy efficiency measures across Council homes and local schools to help cut bills and reduce emissionsEV charging points across Hackney, as part of the Council’s sector-leading rollout of charging infrastructureReplacement windows to improve energy efficiency in local schoolsThe investment process is being managed by Abundance Investment, a leading platform facilitating ethical and sustainable investments, on behalf of Hackney Council. Abundance has worked with 13 councils across the country to issue investments like this, which have raised over £11 million since 2020. Returns on investments will be paid every six months into investors' Abundance accounts, offering flexibility to withdraw or reinvest funds as desired.The investment period is open until 31 May.  To find out more and make an investment, visit: abundanceinvestment.com/council/hackney Notes to editors: Investments are long term and may be hard to sell. Council investments are not a savings account and you are lending money to a council. Changes in market interest rates may affect the value of your investment if you sell before maturity. Approver: Abundance investment (FRN 525432). Approval date: 28/02/25Abundance’s service in relation to council investments (P2P loans) is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.Holding investments in an IFISA does not reduce the risk of the investment or protect you from losses. You can still lose all your money. It only means that any potential gains from your investment will be tax free. The tax treatment of your investment will depend on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.Hackney Green Investment, which is a loan, is Green Loan Principles compliant and is being issued under a Green Finance Framework. This is a voluntary standard which sets out how Hackney Council intends to manage its green local authority securities in the future, and outlines how they will meet the Green Loan Principles. This assures investors that funds raised can only be used to help them deliver on eligible green projects from within this framework, and Abundance will monitor the use of funds across the investment term to ensure the principles are being adhered to.

Maximum effort pledged to improving satisfaction levels in Council’s housing service

28th February 2025
Hackney Council’s housing service will continue to give ‘maximum effort’ to improving the satisfaction levels of tenants in the service.Cabinet member for Housing Services and Resident Participation, Cllr Clayeon McKenzie, has reaffirmed the service’s drive to transform and improve. This follows the results of the latest annual survey of tenant satisfaction in the service either staying the same or falling slightly in some areas this year compared to last year.Despite small falls in satisfaction this year the work the service is doing is still seeing levels higher in virtually every single area from two years ago when the service started its improvement journey. The results of the independent survey of 2,000 Hackney Council tenants and leaseholders, carried out between September and November, help provide a marker for how tenants feel the service performing. It also helps the service see how the steps it is taking to improve are working and areas they need to improve on.Over the last few years the Council’s housing service has worked hard to introduce a range of changes to help improve the quality of life for people living in its homes. These have included speeding up the time to respond to reports of leaks as well as damp and mould. It has also looked to strengthen the way tenants can help shape and inform its work. It has also changed contractors to help support its inhouse repairs team to maintain its homes which is helping to provide added capacity to help speed up planned maintenance and carry out any repairs needed.The survey found that tenant satisfaction in the service as a whole in 2024/2025 was 57% compared to 59% the previous year - although it is still above the 2022/2023 level of 52%.It also found that the satisfaction levels in housing repairs, in feeling their home is safe, that the Council treats tenants fairly and with respect and the Council’s approach to tackling anti-social behaviour remained at the same level as the previous year.It also highlighted that satisfaction in the way the Council handles complaints rose to 29% from 28% the previous year.However, it also showed slight reductions in satisfaction in regards to keeping people’s homes well maintained (57% compared to 61%) and keeping communal areas clean and well maintained (59% compared to 62%).The survey’s findings will be used by the service to continually seek to improve its work, especially in keeping communal areas clean and well maintained. The results for all the Tenant Satisfaction Measures over the last three years are listed in the table below:Measure2024/20252023/20242022/2023Overall Satisfaction57%59%52%Satisfaction with overall repairs service in the last 12 months63%63%58%Satisfaction with time taken to complete the most recent repair57%60%52%Satisfaction that home is well maintained57%61%53%Satisfaction that home is safe63%63%58%Satisfaction that landlord listens to views and acts on them53%54%44%Satisfaction that landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter70%71%56%Agreement that landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect70%70%61%Satisfaction with landlords approach to handling complaints29%28%26%Satisfaction landlord keeps communal areas clean and well maintained59%62%59%Satisfaction landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhood68%69%56%Satisfaction with landlord’s approach to handling ASB61%61%50%

Budget: How Hackney Council is rising to the challenges

Like all local authorities, Hackney Council is facing extreme financial challenges. More people rely on local services than ever before, and more council funds are being used in a small number of areas like social care, support for vulnerable children, and housing for people at risk of homelessness. That means difficult decisions, but it doesn’t mean investment in a better Hackney will stop. These are some of the ways the Council is rising to the challenges.Using external fundingThis year’s budget includes £147m in external grants for specific projects, providing extra funds to invest in the borough.Work to transform Amhurst Road and Pembury Circus is now underway as part of the Council’s plan for a greener, safer and healthier Hackney Central, supported by £19m in new ringfenced investment directly from the government.Investing for the long-termThis year’s budget includes more than £500m on capital spending to improve parks, homes, leisure centres and other things the Council owns. This includes £11.4m this year to begin the landmark transformation of Kings Hall Leisure Centre – a major investment now, but one that will provide a state of the art facility for decades to come.Spending to saveFrom children’s homes to temporary accommodation, spending in the right areas now can help the council reduce its costs in the long-term, protecting investment for frontline services.For example, this year’s budget includes spending nearly £2m to upgrade Hackney’s CCTV networks, which helped secure more than 700 arrests last year. By investing in better, more efficient equipment now, it reduces day-to-day operation costs.Protecting frontline servicesThe Council will have to make £25m in savings for 2025-26, and on current estimates over £50m more over the following three years.As much of this shortfall as possible is being made up from changing how the Council works behind the scenes while protecting services for those who need them most. However, where changes are being made to the services for residents, these decisions are being made carefully, transparently and to prioritise the needs of Hackney’s most vulnerable residents first.Find out moreNew council budget agreedMayor Woodley: I want to go further and make Hackney even betterBudget: where our money comes from and how it's spent
27th February 2025

"I want to go further and make Hackney even better": Mayor Woodley on the Council's budget

Hackney is London’s best borough. That’s why I made it my home many years ago, raised my son here, and in 2023 took up the huge honour of becoming Mayor of Hackney.Across the country, councils face big financial challenges. More people rely on us than ever before, and more of our funds are being used in a small number of areas like social care, support for vulnerable children, and temporary homes for people at risk of homelessness.By law we have to balance our budget, so this year we have to make nearly £25m in savings and increase the Council’s element of your Council Tax bill by 4.99% from April. We also plan to use £10m from the Council’s reserves to help fund services over the next year – a move that is not sustainable and that we will be unable to repeat in future years.These steps help us remain stable at a time where other councils are forced into asking the government to permit them to borrow extra money, seeking to raise Council Tax far above standard increases, or cutting back on Council Tax discount support for low-income families. Our Council Tax rates are still among the lowest in London, and this year we are maintaining discounts of up to 90% for working households on low incomes.Your contributions also mean that we can continue to provide vital support for Hackney residents. They fund foster carers, pay for the growing cost of providing social care, and put a roof over the heads of families hit hardest by Hackney’s housing crisis.As your Mayor, doing my best to protect the most vulnerable is my priority. But I want to go further and make Hackney even better – by tackling the housing crisis head on, addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality, and continuing to lead the way in the fight against climate change.Doing that when budgets are stretched will mean rising to the challenge and doing things differently. We will inevitably still have tough choices to make. We will need to change how we work to reduce costs while improving services, invest now to save money in the long-term, and seek extra funding to deliver on our ambitions.We’ll need to work together, and change together. But by doing so, we can build a fairer, safer, greener and healthier Hackney, for everyone.Caroline WoodleyMayor of Hackney Find out moreNew Council budget agreedBudget: where our money comes from and how it's spentHow Hackney Council is rising to the challenges
27th February 2025

Rising to the challenges: new Council budget agreed

Efforts to tackle the housing crisis, reverse inequality and lead the fight against climate change in Hackney will continue in spite of the financial challenges affecting councils, the Mayor of Hackney has committed after councillors agreed Hackney Council’s new budget for the year ahead.The budget, confirmed yesterday (26 February), means the Council will balance the books for the financial year from April 2025 – despite huge financial pressures that have led other councils to seek extra financial support from the government or raise Council Tax far above standard increases.That has only been possible by Hackney Council making nearly £25m in savings in 2025-26, and taking the unprecedented step of using almost £10m from its reserves to fund services over the next year. The Council will also also receive around £25m more funding from the government than it expected to receive under the previous government.Council Tax bills will rise by the standard 4.99% from April 2025, remaining among the lowest in London, with discounts of up to 90% available to low income households maintained this year. Owners of second properties will see their Council Tax bills doubled for the first time, after double Council Tax bills were introduced for the owners of any home that has sat empty for at least 12 months in April 2024.The majority of the Council’s budget is spent on frontline services targeted at those most in need, with a greater proportion of Council funding being directed towards areas such as social care, homelessness and children’s services, where demand for and the cost of supporting residents has increased.Find out moreMayor Woodley: I want to go further and make Hackney even betterHow Hackney Council is rising to the challengesBudget: where our money comes from and how it's spent
27th February 2025